Red Tape on the Upswing

How much do federal regulations cost? That question has been debated for decades. The truth is that nobody knows for sure. But we do know the cost is very high—and new rules are being added to the pile at a disturbing rate. According to figures we have compiled, 43 major regulations—imposing more than $100 billion in new, annually recurring regulatory costs—were adopted during the past seven years of Barack Obama’s presidency.